It’s a CincyMusic Halloween

It is that time of year again folks, pumpkin spice, ghosts, goblins, and eating too much candy. What songs remind you of Halloween? The CincyMusic team got together to create you a Spotify playlist. Plug in while you hand out candy, get the kiddos ready, or for your own Halloween party!

It still raises goosebumps for me. I was very young when it came out and what I remember is that even when the opening of the song came on the radio, I would run to the nearest closet and take cover. My mom thought this was hilarious. That video changed the face of music videos from then on.

Matt Steffen:

Screaming Jay Hawkins, “I Put A Spell On You”

Nina Simone and CCR went on to record their own amazing versions of this song. But the original, performed by one of the first shock jocks of music, is so raw and gutteral. It just screams Halloween.

Natalya Daoud:

The Cranberries, “Zombie”

Stevie Wonder, "Superstition"

David Bowie, "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)"

Róisín Murphy,"Ramalala (Bang Bang)"

"Scary Monsters-" David Bowie's voice and the lyrics are very haunting and the rock instrumentals just add for a dominating persona.

"Ramalala (Bang Bang)"-The first time I heard this song was in high school many years ago. My high school dance team performed this. They got the idea from the T.V. show, "So You Think You Can Dance." The song and the routine terrified me. Everyone was dressed as zombies and half the time the gym lights were turned off. From start to finish, the song sounds like of an 80s horror film.

Moose Gronholm:

Willy Tea Taylor, “Molly Rose"

The first time i heard it back in like 2011 or 2012, I had never heard anything that had legitimately freaked me out in a way that seemed far too real. Fast forward two years and I meet Willy and I heard why he wrote the song, or the why that he decided he would tell me. Never had I heard someone whisper in a song, and this for me is my all-time favorite Halloween song.

Jared Bowers:

Murder By Death - The Devil In Mexico, from Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?

This entire album is quintessential Halloween listening. The song is the perfect introduction to both the album, and the band. The Devil shows up in a Mexican town and is shot in the back. Then all hell breaks loose. This track sets the stage for an epic story filled with zombies, fire, dead men hanging, and all kinds of melancholy, odd, haunting and dramatic music to go with it. If you're feeling frisky, check out the entire album, as well as their album Red of Tooth and Claw - it's a sneaky prequel and ends right as Who Will Survive starts...

AFI - Total Immortal, from All Hallows EP

I think this entire EP is flawless, and basically encapsulates everything that AFI did so well during that period in their history. This track - and the rest of the EP, which includes an incredible cover of The Misfits' "Halloween" - is just great punk rock Halloween listening and makes for a nice punch in the middle of slower, sometimes goody Halloween tunes.

Courtney Phenicie is the Editor in Chief of CincyMusic and an alum of Northern Kentucky University. She enjoys singing in the car, pizza rolls, boxed red wine, and The Golden Girls. If you can’t find her roaming around the city with her daughter Josephine, check The Southgate House Revival or Casablanca Vintage in Northside.